a multi-author volume<\/a> published by Routledge], focuses on Chinese media organisations cultivating ties with Australian counterparts in order to project a more palatable image of a rising China to Australian and Western audiences.<\/p>\nInformed about conventional international relations literature on public diplomacy and rising powers, Dr Wang offers a different perspective. This viewpoint is drawn from his insider knowledge and 10-plus years of firsthand experience, initially working as a BBC journalist and then in a leadership role at SBS, interacting with Chinese media delegations on their missions to Australia. The article finds that in spite of Beijing\u2019s much greater investment in recent years to bolster its soft power and enhance its reputation, China\u2019s international image continues to suffer. The much-vaunted public relations campaigns launched by various Chinese media organisations have proved to be much cry and little wool. This is due, in part, to lack of experience and professional preparation, but more due to unrealistic expectations and a failure to come to terms with the inevitability of what the author calls ‘the rising power syndrome.’<\/p>\n
Contrary to common fears in the West of China’s increasing spending power to buy influence in the political and other spheres of life, Dr Wang’s case study shows that more money spent does not always mean more influence obtained. The article concludes with a blunt message for Beijing’s policy makers to save their money for more worthy causes by rethinking their strategy of top-down media campaigns and letting the marketplace of public opinion sort itself out.<\/p>\n
Article by Dr Yi Wang, Director of the Chinese Studies Program at Griffith University, and a member of Griffith Asia Institute.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amidst increasing unease regarding the attempts of Chinese organisations and individuals to purchase political influence in Australia, a newly published article by Griffith academic and GAI member, Dr Yi Wang, sheds fresh light on the nature and effect of China\u2019s exercise of its \u2018soft power,\u2019 from an oft-neglected angle. Dr Wang\u2019s article [titled\u00a0“When a RisingContinue reading “How smart is China\u2019s media diplomacy?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[245],"tags":[284,312],"class_list":["post-2813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-china-and-north-east-asia","tag-china","tag-dr-yi-wang"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Christine Kowalski","yoast_head":"\nHow smart is China\u2019s media diplomacy? | Griffith Asia Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Amidst increasing unease regarding the attempts of Chinese organisations and individuals to purchase political influence in Australia, a newly published\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/how-smart-is-chinas-media-diplomacy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How smart is China\u2019s media diplomacy? 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